Prisoner of War
by scrappster
Summary: Thrown into a world he has only dreamed of, Dib fights to keep his sanity, and his life. Can you kill your greatest enemy when they stand for all the same things as you?
1. Prologue

_**Prisoner of War**_

**Prologue **

-

_When your salvation lies within the hands of your greatest foe, how do you survive to see the coming day? When everything you fought to destroy becomes that very thing you fight to protect, who then, can you truly call a friend? How much can you change, and still call yourself sane? How many times can you betray the ones you love, and still trust yourself? _

-

**AN – **_Greetings all. To the point, this is an Invader Zim fanfic (series and characters copyrighted to Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon). The main character is Dib, who ends up stuck into a rather awkward position. His wildest dreams come true, but the longer he stays, the more he questions whether all that's happened is really what he wants. _

_Ok, just so you know, this is a story, started randomly, for my enjoyment. Purely my enjoyment. Between being in a new town (near mountains omg), going to college full-time, and working practically full-time at my new (and first) job, I'm a little stressed. I barely know the plot, nor do I have a clue as to how it all will end, but that's the fun part, ni? If I'm slow at posting, I've probably got 5 projects to finish. If I'm fast at updating, I've probably been working a lot xD Much love, and I hope you guys like this as much as I do._

-

"Aliens!"

"Shut up, Dib."

"No, seriously! Right there, they're taking our cows!"

Bright purple beams shot down to the earth, hissing softly and mechanically as fat cow-beasts floated around the air. The ships themselves were the old-fashioned shiny saucers, and made exceptionally loud beeping noises with each cow it accepted.

"No! Just look Gaz! Aliens are stealing our cows to somehow taint our meat supply!"

"I'm almost done with this level Dib. If you don't shut your stupid face, I'll make you eat a cactus with vinegar."

"But I don't like vinegar…"

"My point. Now shut up before your annoying-ness kills me."

Gaz wandered away from the scene of cow abduction, leaving Dib to squeal and flounder about in search of some type of recording device. He laughed triumphantly as he brandished a brand new video recorder. The world would finally see proof, and he'd be renown world wide for having proved the existence of aliens. However, a cow suddenly fell from the sky and slammed into him. The extremely large heifer stood and wandered off without a second thought, and left Dib twitching, and his camera broken. He sat up, moaning for a moment before snapping to his feet and looking to the sky. The aliens, as though on cue, cut the power to their transportation beams and sped off without a single clue to their presence, other then a few seemingly drunken cows.

Dib sighed and looked down at the ground. He spied his camera and tiredly scooped the device up. He looked it over and brushed away a few blades of grass off-handedly.

"Darn, why does this keep happening to me."

Tenderly cupping the camera in his hands, and he looked it over more thoroughly in hopes that he could somehow save it. He ended his evaluation short and decided it best to follow after his sister. Maybe another opportunity to prove his worth as a paranormal investigator would attack him from behind a trash can on the way home.

-

"Gir, would you _please_ stop singing…?"

The little dysfunctional robot completely ignored his master and simply kept with his little song. Zim still couldn't tell if these lapses of obedience were intentional or not.

"Do do deededo Dedod Deedook I'm done. Oooo what's that?"

The robot pointed to the computer screen in front of him, indicating that he finally realized why his master had brought him here in the first place. Zim sighed in frustration, but decided it best to continue. He typed into the main keyboard to shift around the picture of the new robot he had recently designed.

"This is my next ingenious, diabolical, flawless, most amazing, fantastically wonderful plan to destroy the humans. I affectionately call it, the Megadestroyer."

"It look like a chicken."

Zim blinked.

"What? No, it's not a chicken."

"Well, it look like dat one that the tall people sent a while back."

Zim glared and waved his arms about.

"This is nothing like the Megadoomer, Gir! This is a completely original and ingenious creation of Zim. Now, if I may _continue_, Gir. This amazing creation will ensure the destruction of the human race. It has a cloaking device, and lots of neat boomy things."

"Like the chicken thing."

Zim growled and swiped at Gir, purposefully missing.

"No, Gir, this is NOT like the Megadoomer. Nothing like it at all."

"Then wuts diff'rent about it?"

Zim shook his head haughtily and rubbed his temples.

"Poor delusional Gir. You do not realize the wonder that is this? You see, this machine cloaks the pilot as well, and this one has brand new batteries. So you see, this is so very wonderfully and ingeniously different then the Megadoomer."

Gir's eyes widened as he spoke in a very monotone voice.

"I now see the error of my ways."

"Good, it's about time. Now go start up the Megadestoryer. We will finally become rulers of this dirty, pathetic dirt ball of dirt."

Gir squeed as he bolted off to do as his master demanded, and Zim continued setting up the main sequences. His maniacal, devious laughter filled the halls and echoed ominously, and within moments, life ignited within the massive, artificial creature and rumbled hoarsely. This would be the day, this would surely and indefinitely be the day of the human race's demise! And Dib's. Couldn't forget to destroy that annoying pest.

Zim's laughter grew and grew, his eyes wild and burning with his newly found pedestal of perfection. This would be the day when he would finally prove to his Tallest that he truly _could_ be the amazing invader he so often declared himself…to be. Yes, YESSS! The lights flickered on and sheened coldly across the sleek design. As they grew, the pale lights glowed, almost forebodingly, against the darkness of the main room. This would be neat. Zim quickly mounted Gir, who unquestioningly floated his master to the cockpit of this destructive beast. Zim opened the door, just enough to smell the fresh, lemony smell of domination and doom. He could practically feel the human's suffering, taste their fear, smell their undeniable submission to his almighty might.

His hand reached slowly inside and his eyes followed carefully. This moment would change his life for good. For the better. And just as his gloved finger lightly graced the control panel, everything exploded into a fiery Hell, and then, naught.

-

"Wait, so you're saying they're…tall?"

"Yes, my Tallest. They're probably even taller then the both of your, yet their intelligence level is…we'll say, limited."

"And they're…tall…? How can anything tall be stupid?"

"It's certainly baffling to watch, my Tallest."

Purple perked up and looked to his co-tallest.

"Woah, have we done this before?"

Red looked at him with a raised eyebrow and rolled his eyes.

"If we have done this before, don't you think we'd remember?"

"No no, I remember us having this type of conversation before."

"Are you crazy? Where on Irk would we have heard about a dumb race that's tall? I mean, a race that's tall, AND dumb?"

"I think Zim told us abo-

A harsh beep screeched out and demanded the attention of all in the main bridge. Both straightened up, and the invader onscreen saluted and quickly ended his transmission. He certainly didn't wish to keep his oh-so-busy Tallest from their duties. Red looked back to one of the captains.

"What's this all about?"

"It seems to be a distress signal, my Tallest."

"An important one?"

"Doesn't clarify, only says that it's origin is from….Earth. We're putting it through to better decipher it's meaning "

Red and Purple, in a frightening, yet predictable, unison snapped up and threw their hands towards the engineers.

"No! Don't answer it! Don't let it through!"

Red paused and scratched his chin.

"Wait, a distress signal? Does that mean he's dead?"

"Oh boy that'd be cool."

The engineer turned a little more in his seat to better look at his leaders.

"It doesn't clarify. Should we put it through to find out?"

Red sighed and rubbed his head.

"Fine, let it through. He better be dead, we're very busy right now."

The screen flickered to a steady black screen, which loaded to show Zim's base, which quite frankly was a complete mess. Wires were hanging and sparked against the darkness, and various machine parts lay in ruin. Zim shakily stood, pushing aside a rather large hunk of metal, and painfully saluted the screen.

"Greetings, my Tallest. I see my new distress system is working well."

Purple rose an eyebrow.

"Distress system?"

Zim laughed and coughed at the same time and folded his arms behind his back. With his eyes closed confidently and a smug grin upon his face, he nodded and further explained.

"Yes, my ingeniousness realized that if my base was ravaged, there'd be little chance that I could inform the Armada of such an event. So I created a program that sends out a distress signal instantly when the computer detects something bad happening. Does it not amaze you?"

Red and Purple gave each other agreeing looks of frustration, and looked back to the screen. Red held out a hand, fishing for another excuse.

"Uh, that's great Zim. Look, we're in the middle of a very important intelligence transmission, so, uh, good job soldier and enjoy fixing your base."

Zim held up a hand.

"No, wa-"

The transmission was cut and Purple snickered. Red sent his co-tallest a glare, which Purple sensed and looked up.

"What?"

"I knew that if we started talking about Zim that he'd bug us. It's happened like, three times."

Purple nodded.

"Yeah, I've notic-HEY I know! Let's make a law that says it's illegal to talk about Zim!"

"Or even say his name!"

"Wooo!"

The two cheered and rushed off to tell the record-keeping Irken of their new law. And to get more donuts.


	2. Into the Base

_**Prisoner of War**_

**Into the Base**

**AN – **I'm creative :D

The only thing left behind was the soft, unending hiss. It filled him, horrified him, ominously leered above and consumed him. Ah well, he had so much work to do. He turned slightly to look behind him, glassy eyes washing over broken machines and dangling wires. He didn't know why the Megadestroyer had exploded like that, but the reasoning behind it didn't matter. He kicked aside a piece of metal and rubbed his head in frustration. He felt something and looked at his hand off-handedly. Blood. The wound didn't bother him and he simply brushed aside the trails that began slipping down his cheek. It was nothing, least to an Irken invader. He had so much work to do.

Zim sighed and picked up a stray piece of melted plastic. He looked it over and tossed it to the side.

"Gah…this'll take days to fix. Gir."

The little robot snapped up from his place under a massive pile of rubble. His eyes automatically glowed red and he saluted.

"Yes, my Master!"

"Go upstairs and guard the house while I do the necessary repairs. And if Dib comes, give him this."

With a grin, Zim handed his robot minion a small box that had a pretty ribbon tied around it. Gir gasped and snatched it away, hugging it lovingly and laughing.

"Aw, Master! You didn't have to! I lurves it, thank you so much!"

"No, Gir. It's for the Dib."

Gir looked up at Zim, then at the box, up again, and then to the ground. He sniffed and sulked to the elevator to do as his master said. Dib got all the surprises. Pff.

Zim sighed after Gir left, pulled out a box of tools, and began his treacherous and time-consuming mission.

-

Days passed, and with the ringing of a new school bell, Dib was clenching onto his desk like death. Zim wasn't here again. He hadn't been in class for 5 days, and that wasn't counting the weekend. His eyes were huge as his mind tested all the reasons for why Zim would be gone. He knew something was going on. He knew Zim was up to some new evil plot to destroy mankind. His eyes twitched spazmatically, and just as Ms. Bitters started the day's lecture, his hand shot up and waved furiously in the air. Bitters sighed frustratedly.

"Yes, Dib?"

"Ms. Bitters, can I go home?"

"You just got here. You can't leave because you think the classroom smells like a dying cow."

"Uh, no, I'm really sick."

She stared blankly at him.

"Is your blood supply dangerously low due to some recent abrasion and/or trauma?"

"…no…"

"Are your organs missing and/or exploding due to bacterial cysts?"

Dib glanced down without moving his head and looked back at the dark teacher.

"…well, not really…"

"Are you vomiting blood?"

Dib blinked and made smacky noises as he tasted his mouth.

"Uh, no…"

"Are you unconscious?"

Dib barely rose an eyebrow at the question, but he got an idea. He slammed his head on the desk and fell quiet. Ms. Bitters sighed again and pointed to Torque Smacky.

"Drag him to the nurse's office and tell her he can go home."

Torque moaned but complied nonetheless. He picked up Dib and dragged him down the hall to the nurse's office, left him by the door, and returned to the classroom. Dib waited for a moment, knowing and doubting that the nurse would even notice he was there, and once Torque was gone, he grinned and jumped to his feet.

"Too easy."

He ran down the hall and through the double doors that lead to the outside world, and to his next big heroic save. This would be the day! Yes, it would certainly be the day! He'd foil Zim's next evil plot against humanity and prove to the world, his existence. Man that'd be cool.

As he ran down the street, his grin grew with each fleeting step. Mankind would be doomed without him, that was for sure. With the crescendo of flamboyant thoughts and wishful dreams, so did breach the green house on the horizon. Evil and dark in its little nook, so desiring for the eyes and attention of the suspicious, it loomed like the monstrous abode it was. Dib stormed up to the door and slammed his fist into it.

"Zim! I know you're up to something!"

Nothing. Dib glared and hit the door again.

"Come on Zim, you coward! You won't destroy mankind while I'm around!"

Silence again. Dib raised an eyebrow and looked behind him at the motionless gnomes. Zim must really be up to something if he didn't even notice he was here yet. He growled and whipped around to kick at the door.

"Come out you Alien! I know what you're up to, and it's not happening! Not on my watch! Protector of Earth, avenger of Peace! You wo-"

He stopped when he noticed a high-pitched humming coming from down the sidewalk. Looking back, he gasped when he saw Gir trotting up the path to the door. The little robot stopped and looked at Dib, who stared back without knowing how exactly to react. The robot slowly walked around him, watching him carefully, and slowly reached up for the doorknob. In a second he threw an open-mouthed smile at Dib just before he opened the door and trot inside. Dib's eyes snapped opened, and he looked at the door. He glared at it but quickly turned his attention to the door Gir had forgotten. Rushing inside, he stopped and looked around quickly to find where he should start first.

Before he could begin any plans, Gir landed heavily in front of him and held out a hand.

"Halt, Intruder!"

Dib jumped at the move, but relaxed, obviously not seeing the robot as a threat.

"Look, I just want to find out where Zim's been."

Gir took off the hood to his disguise and grinned.

"Oh, Master's been fixing his lab place. The chicken 'sploded and made things bad."

Dib stared blankly at Zim's minion and raised an eyebrow. He decided it best to ignore.

"Well, can I…uh, see him?"

"Yep, this way."

Gir marched towards a desk, which lifted and exposed a small elevator to the lower levels. Dib hopped in, and the mechanisms kicked into gear. Once down, the door for the elevator opened and exposed a large expanse of machinery and foreign languages. Dib's face simply dropped. Sure, he had been in here before, but then he had a planet to save, and a sister to protect. This time, the only threatening thing in sight was a little robot that couldn't even remember to lock the door. This was heaven, and he couldn't see enough. He stepped forward and gazed about, eyes so wide and filled with awe. He would never get over seeing the various levels of Zim's base, it didn't matter how many times he saw the alien machinery, or how well he figured out the programming. This was his life, his whole reason for existence, his entire meaning to life, his everything. Without the wonder of space, he was…

A flash of red, a glint of devilish metal, and only a single word could come to mind. _Shit_.

Instinct made him jump back, and when Dib landed, he whipped around in time to see his attacker. It wasn't really much of a surprise, but he still pointed a hard finger at the alien.

"Zim!"

Zim mimicked Dib's move perfectly, posing dramatically and pointing harshly at the other.

"Dib!"

"Zim!"

"Dib!"

"Gir!"

The two enemies looked at the robot, who was grinning proudly. His smile didn't fade the longer they stared, so Dib turned back to Zim and haughtily folded his arms.

"I knew I'd get in eventually."

"But you've already been in here before."

Dib blinked.

"Oh yeah…but no! This time, I've got proof! You'll never take over the earth after I show these to the Swollen Eyeballs!"

"Err! Dib! That's it, I'm going to destroy you now!"

Zim launched himself at Dib, tackling the earthling to the ground. They wrestled around, with Gir sitting off to the side watching. Zim's amazing hand-to-hand combat skills seemed limited in comparison to Dib's, but they fought on, nonetheless. Gir popped another handful of popcorn into his mouth as the computer spoke up.

"Wow. Just, wow."

"Mhmm."

"There's no depth into this at all. Why are they even fighting? I mean, come on. The author's not even trying anymorAAHH!"

The two pointlessly fighting enemies slammed into one of the main counsels, pushing buttons and breaking various levers. A sequence started up and sent a partial transmission to some unknown place. While the sequence loaded, Zim slashed through wires and tubes, hunting after Dib who had gotten a bit of a head start. With a burst of metallic enhancement, Zim quickly caught up with Dib. With a swift move, he shot out one leg and slammed it into the human's side. With a scream of surprise, Dib lost balance and tumbled deeper into the labs. He slammed into cold plastic, but before he could actually figure out where he was, Zim's foreboding, spidery form loomed behind him. He whipped around, realizing now that he was in a giant tube of some sort, and saw Zim's brilliant red eyes glowing magnificently against the darkened base. Dib backed up against the wall and watched helplessly as Zim's figure consumed his only escape. A devilish grin sat upon the alien's face as his voice started, so low and devious it made Dib's skin crawl.

"Foolish Earth creature. You tested and tried Fate's patience, but now, you pushed too far. This is the end, Dib. Your irritating meddling will no longer hinder Zim. The Earth will be ripe for the taking with your head…not on, your neck, no more. Ha!"

"No!"

Dib's yell only made the alien laugh more and continue with his assault. Dib pressed ever harder upon the plastic behind him, and his eyes darted all around. No way out! There wasn't even a chance he could attack Zim armed and poised for destruction. Zim's laughter morphed suddenly into an insane roar of sorts as he lunged towards the opening, obviously set on pinning Dib and dealing the final blow. However with his spider legs still exposed, the joints caught on the edges of the tube, including a keypad that beeped and whirled in response to the rough treatment. Zim fell back on his butt and looked up, realizing his mistake. He glared up at Dib, but before the human could run away again, the tube suddenly glowed brightly, and within a flash, Dib was gone.

Within an instant Zim had jumped to his feet, his training leading him to ready himself, but with seeing that his enemy had completely vanished, Zim blinked. His eyes widened and his utter confusion was blatantly strewn across his face. After another moment, he realized what had happened. He screamed and fell to his knees, beating his fists against the ground.

"Curse you Dib. Curse you!"

His echoing voice never reached his nemesis, so deep within the abyss of a universe unknown. In a world quiet, still, dark...

…_Alone. _


	3. Slavery

_**Prisoner of War**_

**Slavery**

**AN – **O: Yeah! All the boring intro-ness is done. Now to fun fun xD

A jolt, swift but unforgettable, slashed through his veins. With eyes tightly closed, Dib felt the air change around him, and he realized that Zim must have done something. The alien's voice was no where to be heard, and neither were the cruel hums of his dark, hideous base. His body loosened, and his eyes slowly opened.

Inches from his face floated a piece of Zim's mechanical limb, but it quickly fell onto dark, reddish pink ground. His eyes narrowed upon the spikey leg, but before he could make a move, he suddenly realized he was being watched. It was a feeling so powerful and so overwhelming that his heart almost stopped dead at the sensation. He slowly looked up, his eyes following the wires and metal work of the distant walls, and further up until his eyes graced the tangled mess of the ceiling. Thousands of wires and support beams snaked about one another in an impossible, yet coordinated manner.

Then, that feeling of someone, or something, behind him. He slowly looked up, further and further up until his neck craned back to reveal the monsters from behind. Directly above him, looming like deadly nightmares, glowed two pairs of deadly, seething eyes. One was a deadly, fierce red, the other a piercing, chilling violet. He gasped and whipped around, backing up slowly. Before him now a thousand glowing eyes glared up at him from below. Above them all sat an icy, blue planet on a dark screen that was etched into the wall. His eyes widened further and he slowly backed up until his foot scraped a sharp edge. He gasped and looked up to the figures, now drawn even closer.

The silence was deafening, and he was sure all those deadly, glowing eyes could hear his heart thumping furiously against his throat. He surely couldn't miss it for the world. His mouth fell open, hoping to say something, anything, before he was consumed by their ominous wrath and sucked into a dark, eternal void. However, the red eyed demon before him charged forward, stopping hardly a foot from his face and narrowing his eyes to slits.

"You dare infiltrate our defenses?"

Dib shrank back at the harsh voice, and pulled his hands together before him.

"I…I didn't mean t-"

"Silence, Alien. Who are you?"

"My...my name is Dib."

"And just _what_ are you, Scum?"

"A…a human…"

The speaker's eyes widened a touch in confusion, and he pulled back to look at the quiet one beside him. They looked at each other questioningly before the violet gaze focused upon him.

"How did you get here?"

"A, a transporter, I guess."

Within a split moment, those eyes charged forward, cold, deadly slits, and the move almost made Dib fall off the edge. Dib curled in on himself, feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second. These eyes were twice as cold as the red ones from before, and as Dib assumed, twice as deadly.

"Set to these exact coordinates?"

A sheepish squeak was all he could conjure up as a voice.

"Y..yes…"

The eyes narrowed even further, and his eerie voice seethed through teeth that Dib was glad he couldn't see.

"Sabotage…"

He reeled back and pointed down to Dib, his long, gnarly fingers highlighted eerily by the water plant behind. Sound grew at his declaration, and Dib instinctively stepped forward.

"No! It was a mistake! I just fell into this tube thing, and I was trapped, and Zim must have hit something, I do-"

The two figures reeled back again to look at each other. The red one quickly refocused upon Dib, eyes narrowed, and hissed.

"You spoke that name!"

Dib blinked and cocked his head to the side.

"What, Zim?"

The demon before reeled back again.

"Guards, send this wretched alien beast to the dungeons."

Large figures advanced from the shadows, their deadly red orbs highlighting their devilish grins. Dib pulled back, fearing what this meant.

"No, wait! Please!"

Rough fingers grabbed him and forced him to his knees before the two figures. Their presence was even more ominous and overpowering, having proved the power of their influence to the primitive beast before them. The red one bore a grin that he could just barely see in the dim light.

"Please!"

The demon laughed, cold, heartless, and eerie as the pale, swirling planet behind them. As the strong arms started forcing him away, a hand stretched out into the pale light, the fingers knobbed and evil.

"Wait."

The violet one's eyes were narrowed in thought with the word, and the guards halted immediately. The red devil glared back at the other, and the chilling voice from before began once more.

"Bring him to me."

"What? You said yourself that he's a spy, and he spoke of He-who-must-not-be-named!"

The two sent equal glares at the other.

"I know what I said. Bring the alien to me."

The guards complied without a second thought and forced Dib to his knees before the purple-eyed monster. One guard thrashed his head back to force him to look at the narrowed eyes above. He seemed to study Dib for a moment or two before he leaned forward slightly.

"What happened again?"

Dib winced against the harsh hand holding his head back, but tried his best to keep face.

"I was in Zim's lab trying to stop his next evil plan. He knocked me into some kinda tub thing. It must have been a transporter or something. All I remember is Zim lunging at me. He must have hit a button or something, I don't know…"

The outline of the figure before him was growing slowly in the darkness around him, his eyes getting used to the change in light. Those eyes narrowed once more, though not in cruel intentions. Dib took the others silence as an opportunity to continue his explanation. He pointed behind him at the piece of spider leg still resting on the floor.

"Look, that's one of his leg thingies. I swear, if I had known-"

"Quiet. I believe you. I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to try something as bold as this. It's too blatant."

The red figure advanced.

"Are you absolutely insane? Even if he came here by mistaken, he's alien. He must be executed."

Dib tensed with the mention of an execution, but turned to the cold, violet eyes as they spoke.

"Look, we have to at least figure out why he's here, and if it is by mistake, we should at least try to send him back. It's the least we could do."

Before the other could reply, he looked down at Dib, his eyes much softer now.

"What did you say your name was again?"

Dib blinked, confused and uneasy about this sudden change of heart.

"Dib."

"Hm, well, it's good to meet you. My name is Purple, and this is Red."

Red glared at his counterpart.

"You're absolutely insane."

Purple just glared at him, but quickly turn his attention back to Dib. He vaguely waved towards some unseen watcher, and the entire atmosphere of the room changed. The lights grew and highlighted everything in sight, and the screen from before faded to black. Dib looked around as the light resumed, gazing over the many wires and twisting tubes from before. Dib looked back up to the aliens, their green skin and curved teeth unforgettable to his obsessive mind. Dib gasped and reeled back, pointing a hard finger towards the two leaders.

"You're! You're like Zim! You're his leaders!"

Purple coughed and waved a hand at Dib.

"Yeah, makes since that he'd have a transporter to us. We'll have to fix that by the way…"

Dib, feeling even more nervous knowing where he was, frantically looked between the tall figures. Red sighed and rubbed his head.

"Look, at least stop saying that name."

His eyes narrowed hard on Dib, who rose an eyebrow in confusion. He was about to question the statement when Purple held up his hands.

"Until we reach Devastis, you shall be our temporary slave. A source of entertainment, probably, or maybe a drink boy."

He grew so domineering and official in his words, but he lazily dropped his hands. He looked at Red and motioned behind himself, and the ruler snapped up as though remembering something. He coolly turned towards the crowd behind and held up his arms.

"Apologies, my Followers. This alien intruder shall be dealt with accordingly."

With his words, the guards advanced once more and took Dib by the arms. He squealed and looked up. He thought his fate had changed, but from the hard fingers tight upon his flesh, he could tell otherwise.

"Wait! I though-"

Purple gave a bored, calm look and a small smile to Dib as the guards dragged him off without another thought. They pulled him across the floor and eventually came before a nearby door. They threw him in and one stayed back.

"Stay in there and keep quiet."

He slammed the door and their heavy footsteps retreated to nothing. Dib stood and looked around quickly, but the light was too dim to really see anything. He put his hands on the door and leaned against it. A soft roar reached his ears, and a booming voice accompanied it. It must have been some sort of convention or something. He tried to listen as the roar grew, the crowd cheering for some reason unknown. Other noises and voice rumbled and grumbled unknown words. He pushed himself back and looked up at the door. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He sighed and turned away from the door, reaching out blindly and looking for something to sit on. He found a bed and pushed himself onto it, noting off-handedly that it was quite luxurious for it being an Irken bed.

He laid down and stared at the dark ceiling above him. The deep, resonating shouts were nothing but mumbles, muffled by the walls of the room. The roars and waves of the crowd accompanied it, mixed with the powerful voice, and the two swirled together in an eerie song that instilled fear in his soul, yet calmed him. It was so mechanical, so controlled, just as his fate, he knew. The darkness grew slowly, and his mind's eyes grew soft with images and figures shifting in a nightmare world. He faded as the echoing orchestra soothed him to an anxious slumber.

_AN – For those bored, there's a picture I started drawing that inspired this story. It should be done pretty soon, check my deviantart account if you're curious - scrappster_


	4. Feta Cheese

_**Prisoner of War**_

**Feta Cheese**

**AN** – _It's good. It really is. There's no better title for this chapter, and I'm munching on Feta. xD I'm having too much fun with this. Thankies to reviewers, alerters, and favers xD I hope you enjoy this chapter 3 _

Unsettling dreams and uneasy, passing thoughts were ripped away from Dib when the door whipped open. He snapped up and looked confusedly, yet expectantly towards the door. A cruel silhouette appeared through the blinding light behind, making Dib rub his eyes tenderly. The door shut promptly, choking out the light leaving frigid violet eyes aglow. Dib's eyes snapped open and he leapt off the bed. The other had noticed Dib by now, and had shifted towards him.

Dib shrank back, feeling uneasy with the laughing eyes that hovered above him. The lights flickered on within moments, making Dib wince at the sensation, but he instinctively looked about him. The room was made of dark velvet, luxurious and almost seductive. He looked back up at the strange creature, still not entirely sure what to think about this situation. Purple advanced forward, causing Dib to tense warily. He didn't know if the Tallest would attack him or something, but the ruler simply hovered past Dib lazily and hardly gave him a second glance. Purple paused by a wall and a chair rose from the ground, which he promptly sat in, and picked up a nearby drink. A screen materialized before him and some foreign language started playing on the screen. It was a show of some sort, by the looks of it, and the Tallest seemed not the least bit interested. Silence rested between the two for the longest time, and Dib cautiously stepped forward. What was he to do or think? In the very ship he feared, revered, and had even longed to someday breech. The wonders of the mechanics behind it, along with the awe and fascination of the race, so advanced and new, that piloted it? How could anyone not relish in finally seeing it in full. Yet being here now, he knew his very existence was in danger. Every pair of alien eyes that fell on him seemed set on destroying him. But this one, this one was different…

"You know, if you have something to say, I suggest you say it before the commercials."

Dib blinked and pulled back a little at the comment. It didn't make sense to him, but he figured it was best to take it seriously. He stepped forward, just behind the chair in which Purple sat.

"Um, I was just wondering why I'm not in the dungeons."

Purple eyes peered around the back of the chair, and almost seemed like they laughed at they question.

"What, do you want to go there?"

Dib tensed and waved his hands in front of him.

"No no, no that's not what I meant! I was-"

A soft chuckle from the other made him stop, and the glassy eyes disappeared behind the chair. The alien hand rose and waved softly in the air.

"I donno. You came here by mistake. I think it's a bit harsh to just lock you away."

The way he replied felt so blunt, and the answer didn't make any sense. At least, from what he had found out about Irken and their empire.

"But, you're-"

"Irken, yes. Unsavory, heartless, cruel. The ruthless Irken machine, yes. And it's true."

"Then why would you show mercy?"

Dib felt awkward talking so formally, but he wasn't about to show disrespect to the leader of an enemy race. This was the one person only had to wave a hand, and he could spell out the final chapter of the human race. Pissing him off would be the dumbest thing he could do. And he wasn't stupid. A little crazy maybe, but not stupid. The other didn't make a move and Dib wondered for a moment what look was on his face. Purple spoke, though, and bore an air of complete indifference.

"Do I need a reason?"

He stepped forward to stand beside the chair. The other seemed so dangerous in how lazily he watched the screen. He didn't seem the least bit bothered that Dib could be an assailant that was planning to kill him come the opportune moment.

"But don't you guys not like aliens? Aren't you not even supposed to breathe the same airs or something?"

Purple barely turned his head towards Dib, looking at him with cool, emotionless eyes. They narrowed a touch, a flash of something glinting over his glassy eyes, but it was gone in an instant and he turned more completely to Dib with a soft smile on his face.

"Well, not normally."

"They why be nice to me?"

Purple shrugged off-handedly and looked back to the screen.

"You just reminded me of someone."

Dib rose an eyebrow, cocking his head to the suspiciously. He opened his mouth to say something when the screen changed suddenly and Purple snapped up.

"Aw yeah! Wooh!"

He sucked on the straw and happily watched as various colorful advertisements flashed over the screen. He giggled and munched popcorn, and Dib just sighed. Whatever, he didn't really expect to figure much out anyway. He walked over to the bed and plopped down. The sheets were certainly comfortable, but were almost too soft to sleep on. Maybe that's why he couldn't really sleep before. The screen eventually shifted back to the darker, more serious show and Purple relaxed to a dull state once more. Dib pushed himself up and he looked over to the ruler.

"I thought you guys didn't sleep."

Purple straightened up and turned to look at him with wide curious eyes.

"We don't."

"Then why the beds?"

He grinned and set down his cup, getting up as he spoke.

"For comfort, I guess. You gotta lay down sometime, and the floor gets frustrating after a while."

Dib crossed his legs and placed his hands on the bed before him. Purple rubbed his neck and looked around for a moment. His antennae perked up and he looked at the door just before it opened. Red hovered inside, rubbing his head frustratedly. He growled as he sat down on the bed heavily, obviously not having seen Dib.

"I hate you, Pur."

Purple grinned.

"Hn, yeah."

He floated over to a desk and grabbed the drink that was there. He turned and leaned against it, waiting for his co-tallest expectantly. Red moaned and threw out his hands.

"We just need to kill everyone. They're all so stupid."

"Yeah, I know where you're coming from. You think they'll do it for us though?"

Red waved, his eyes closed angrily.

"No problem, I mean, its par-GAH"

Red whipped back, having just noticed the alien boy sitting on the bed behind him. He reeled back, stopping just at the edge of the bed. He pointed a tense finger at Dib.

"What is HE doing here!"

Purple smiled coolly.

"You sent him here, remember?"

Red looked frantically back at Purple, and then quickly back to Dib.

"But shouldn't it be in a cage or have a muzzle or something?"

Purple grinned and Dib rose an eyebrow. He folded his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I don't bite."

"Ah! Stay back!"

Dib held out his hands.

"I'm not even doing any-"

Red reeled back again and fell off the bed. Dib blinked and rose an eyebrow.

"Uh, o…kay…."

He crawled over to the edge and peered over at Red.

"Uh, are you alright?"

Red just glared at him and jumped to his feet. With an arrogant air, he folded his arms and turned his back to Dib.

"Send him somewhere else. His presence is making me sick."

Purple grinned, shifting quietly towards Dib. He pointed towards Red, winked and grinned. Dib rose an eyebrow as Red continued.

"An alien presence is illegal and should be terminated. So he needs-"

He continued on and on as though someone was actually listening, and Purple leaned his head down and motioned to Red.

"I'll give you a donut if you poke him."

Dib looked curiously up at the towering leader and looked at Red's back. He wasn't really that hungry, but a donut sure sounded good. He crawled over the bed towards him, leaned out, and poked him in the back of his roes. Red tensed up immediately and whipped around.

"Assassination! Disease! Filth!"

His frantic explosion made it hard for Dib to suppress a grin. He looked back at Purple, who was making squeaky noises and covering his face with a hand.

"To the dungeons! To the interrogators! I told you Pur, he's here to destroy us!"

Dib fought back a giggle and reached out to poke him again. However, in a flash, hard fingers snapped onto his hand and an unimaginable strength instantly crushed his fingers. He hit the ground and he gasped in pained surprise. He looked up at Red, whose eyes were narrowed to deadly, almost maniacal slits. The long, spindly fingers tightened and Dib screamed.

"Alien filth."

"Red, hey, come on now."

Red looked back at Purple, who had poked him in the shoulder to get his attention.

"He's an assassin. I bet he's using mind control on you or something so that you don't expect anything!"

"He won't be able to kill us Red, and you know mind control don't work on us."

"He snuck up behind me!"

Purple grinned.

"But I do that all the time."

"You know that's different."

"I told him to. I think that's different too."

Red turned more towards the other and glared, releasing Dib's hand off-handedly as he spoke.

"You jerk."

Purple laughed and didn't notice Red's growing grin.

"Oh, by the way, Pur…"

His voice softened to the point that Purple quieted and gave him a suspicious look. Red continued.

"I left a special task for you."

Purple's expression fell as Red continued.

"The, Vagarans are here."

A look of frustration and disgust washed over Purple's face at the mention of the alien race.

"Aw man, Red! Come on…"

"Hey, you're better at dealing with crazy people."

Purple glared at him, sighed defeatedly, and decided it best to comply. Red watched triumphantly as the other retreated, and the door shut behind him. Dib looked up as Red slowly turned around to look at the new slave. His eyes had a look that Dib didn't like for a second. His eyes narrowed even further and Dib pulled back. The leader advanced and stopped just before Dib. He leaned down to glare right into his eyes.

"I don't know why you're here, or who you are. And to be frank, I don't care. But if you even try something, anything, while you're on this ship, I swear to whatever primitive god you might believe in that the deepest pits of Hell won't have ever seen anything as horribly maimed as you."

His seething voice made Dib swallow hard, and to his relief, Red straightened up and away from him.

"Don't leave this room, no matter what the reason, unless one of us, preferably me, accompany or call for you. Understand?"

Dib nodded meekly, certainly not doubting anything this dominating and overpowering figure said. Red turned and left the room, leaving Dib alone. He swallowed. He'd have to be careful with this one, and he hoped he'd have to deal more with the other. At least Purple didn't seem set on killing him, though he still didn't know what to think. He hopped onto the bed and held out his arm. He instinctively clicked on his watch and sent a message to his sister. When her face appeared on the screen, Dib hurriedly explained the situation before she could make up an excuse to end the transmission.

"Gaz! Zim sent me to his leaders, and they're going to make me their slave!"

"So does this mean you won't be home for supper?"

Dib glared and yelled.

"No, Gaz! Look, I might not ever come back!"

"Pff, finally."

He sighed.

"Look, I'll try to figure a way out of this on my own, but I might need you're help."

Gaz just shrugged her shoulders, and Dib decided to take that as an agreement.

"Thanks Gaz. If I need you, I'll contact you again with directions."

She turned off the transmission and left Dib to the silence of the room. He stared at the watch for a long time, feeling so unbelievably alone. He looked up at the dark draping walls and wrapped his arms around himself. It was cold here, and all the warm colors and fabrics strewn about didn't seem to help make it feel any warmer. The TV's soft voice whispered in the background, and Dib just sat on the bed, staring at the distant wall.


	5. I don't get it

_**Prisoner of War**_

**I don't get it**

**AN – **_I really don't. :D_

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he remembered was a blinding light and a pair of frenzied purple eyes hovering over his head. He jolted and found himself unable to move. Long, strong fingers lay claim to his arms and held Dib still. Dib started to panic when a familiar voice came to him.

"Dib, come on."

That eerie voice would (and should) have made him feel even more panicked, but instead he relaxed enough to let the other pull him off the bed. Dib stumbled for a moment but quickly caught himself. He didn't expect to be pulled away so quickly, but hurried to catch his feet up. Purple rushed him out the door where Red was standing boredly before a big screen. Dib tried to catch a glimpse of the screen, fearing what all this chaos was about, but before he got a good look at it, he was yanked away, closer to Red. Purple held Dib in front of himself and gave a huge smile to Red, who was watching Dib curiously. Dib glanced around, not sure what was happening, and only soft sounds, of a distant battle maybe, floated between them. After a very long, awkward pause, Red held out a hand and pointed at the two.

"I don't get it."

Purple sighed heavily behind him, and his hands grew heavy on Dib's shoulders.

"Look, his head, that planet?"

Dib looked back at Purple, who was pointing at the screen behind Red. Red's eyes narrowed and one eyebrow rose.

"I still don't get it."

Purple sighed again and framed Dib's head with his long fingers.

"His head, it's just like that-"

"My Tallest, a transmission from General Var is coming in."

Purple looked up and straightened, and Red turned to face the screen. The screen had fazed to a black screen before Dib could see what had been on before. A calm faced, yet quietly disgruntled Irken appeared on the screen. In the distance, Dib could see small dots flying past the insides of his ship. He was well decorated, and upon seeing his leaders, he instantly saluted.

"Greetings, my Tallest. The purge goes well."

"Then why are you contacting us, General?"

It was probably the first time Dib had heard Red speak in a respectful voice this whole time, but it didn't really surprise him. Red hadn't really ever been rude either, it was just that every time he had heard the leader speak thus far, it was directed angrily at him. The general nodded promptly and explained.

"It seems that they've made a few unauthorized alliances with various groups. The Resisity happens to be their closest ally at the moment."

Red sighed and rubbed his head.

"The Resisty are nothing to be worried about."

"But Sir, they–"

Purple chimed in, obviously hardly giving a damn about the whole situation.

"A rebel group with such a stupid name couldn't possibly have the capabilities to cause the Empire any real damage."

"They've already destroyed team Beta."

Purple's eyes popped open, and Red took the reigns.

"They haven't largely affected the other groups, correct?"

"False, actually, my Tallest. They've practically demolished the Pheta sector, and they're beginning to breech Delson's segment."

Red didn't miss a beat nor show sign of concern.

"Send in team Alpha."

"But Sir–"

"I don't want to hear it. Alpha will wipe the floor with those fools."

"But what if–"

"There is no 'if'. They _will_ obliterate that planet's defenses **and** the Resisty, or each one that comes back will be tried for treason against the Empire and executed before an audience of their peers."

The General, obviously unsettled by the order, snapped up into an uneasy attention and saluted. He fought not to stammer in his words.

"Y-yes, my Tallest. The order will be given immediately."

Red turned, hardly giving a care and only an ounce of frustration sat on his face.

"See to it, General."

He emphasized the other's rank as though in warning. Before the screen faded, Purple pointed at Red.

"You know, he might be right."

"He hasn't said anything to be right with."

"I know, but he was concerned with sending in Alpha. If they got through Beta, how is Alpha supposed to do any better?"

Red glared at him, but before he could say anything, Purple waved a hand and continued.

"I know I know, made up of old invaders and all, but Beta's not that much weaker, and they have more guys on hand. Maybe we should move in the main ship and start the sweep."

Red narrowed his eyes, more in thought now then frustration, and shrugged.

"Could be a trap. Their main operations are still functional, so they could still use cruiser lasers and potentially cause problems for us."

Purple shrugged off-handedly giving Red the burden of the decision and looking back to the screen. Red mimicked the other's actions and point at the screen.

"Send a squadron of Alpha down onto the planet's surface. We need sabotage, and they'll do nicely. The rest of them need to move in on their defenses, and blow stuff up. Meanwhile we'll move the Massive into position, but we won't make ourselves known until we hear word from the squadron planet-broad."

The general saluted proudly.

"Yes, my Almighty Tallest!"

He abruptly clicked off the transmission, and Red looked boredly back at Purple.

"What would the Empire do without us?"

"Hopefully we'll never know."

Red grinned off-handedly and nodded boredly. He waved vaguely to the pilots, who instantly began clicking away at the consoles. A shift of gravity caught Dib off-guard, but stability almost instantaneously resumed. Dib looked up at the two leaders curiously, but both just hovered there staring at the screen. They were bored off their asses, it was impossible to think otherwise. Dib rose an eyebrow and held out a hand. With the movement, Purple boredly looked back at Dib, and rose an eyebrow. He instantly snapped up and whipped around.

"Oh yeah!"

He whizzed behind Dib, putting his hands on Dib's shoulders again and looking at Red, the same huge grin sitting on his face. Red looked back and stared at the other.

"Get it yet?"

Red shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"No, Pur, I don't get it. You're sense of humor is totally whack."

"Wiggity whack?"

Red stared at him blankly.

"…what?"

"You mean fo shizzle, right?"

Red gave him a dead glare.

"Why the Hell do I put up with you?"

Purple grinned and lifted away from Dib, who turned and looked up at the leader.

"Because you like me."

"No, because it's illegal for me to kill you."

"Oh yeah. Well, same thing."

Red turned back to the screen and waved vaguely toward Purple and Dib.

"Take him back to the room."

"But you never got the joke."

"I bet you didn't even have a joke to begin with."

"I did too."

Red turned his head back and sent a glare to his counterpart.

"Just get him out of here. He'll just be in the way."

The screen before Red phased from the dark screen to a chaotic, glowing mess. Ships sat as little dots in the void of space that surrounded a large, luminous planet. They were battling, small beams and flickers of deadly light speckling the field between the feuding ships. It was just as vicious and deadly as all those sci-fi movies Dib used to watch. And yet the leaders were hardly even paying it attention. A guard came forward and dragged Dib off, and Purple hovered to stand beside the other, the chaos sitting so nicely on the screen reflecting in their emotionless, glassy eyes. Dib couldn't even say anything, and only one thought came to mind.

_How…?_

The guard threw him in and the door hissed violently shut. Dib glared up at the unseen guard, but quickly jumped up to the wall and began feeling around for a switch. His hand graced over a sensor that flicked on the lights, and he instantly whipped around to find some means of escape. He'd be damned if he didn't at least try to break free of his captors, and he sure as Hell wasn't about to leave Zim unchecked back on Earth. He followed along the bottom edges of the walls, knocking against the metal occasionally incase there was some secret passageway. He came near one of the beds, and he knelt down and crawled under. His fingers traced the nook between the wall and floor until he hit a small vent. A grin exploded over his face as his fingers attacked the metal, and finally popped it open. The movement caused something small to slide across the ground, and he looked down at the small shiny object.

Tenderly, he picked it up and started to study it for a moment before the door whizzed open. He sucked in a quick breath and quickly squeezed through the vent before he was noticed. He slipped into a small void, but he didn't take the time to figure out his place. He crawled away and further into the abyssal maze of the ventilation system. Soon, distant, echoing clinks and booms resonated through the vents, and he fought to move faster. The sounds grew, louder and louder, bearing down on him and consuming his every sense. Suddenly, his knee hit a grate and jarred it loose, causing Dib to fall through and onto the ground. He winced and pushed himself up quickly. The room was a chilling dark blue, and before him stood another Irken, frozen in place by surprise. Their magenta eyes seemed familiar, but before Dib could say anything, the Irken started yelling out to unseen comrades.

"In here! The intruder is in here!"

Eyes shot open wide with the words, and he scrambled to his feet. He charged forward, running blindly through the room, twisting past wires and processors of every and all kinds, when he suddenly slammed into a strong body. He fell back but quickly snapped his eyes up to see cold, near black eyes staring heatedly at him. They were glassy, almost dead against the darkness of the room, but it wasn't much taller then him. Dib was about to turn and run away when the dark eyes softened considerably. He paused, uncertain but curious nonetheless, when a rough voice spoke.

"You're the, the human."

"Y…yes…"

"A being of cognizance?"

He didn't understand the question, but nodded warily nonetheless. A grin washed over the stranger's face as he stepped forward, allowing light to wash over him. A horrid scar was all too obvious across his face, even in the dim lights of the room, and stretched over the majority of his face. He certainly didn't have the clean complexion that he had seen on every Irken thus far, but before Dib could get a better look at him, a quick hand snatched his arm and yanked him closer. The other glared coldly and spoke.

"Could you learn how to program our alien technology?"

Dib gave a questioning look and fought a little against the strong hand on his arm.

"I'm sure I could, but I'm–"

"Perfect. This way."

The stranger unleashed Dib's arm and retreated, leaving Dib watching him in confusion. The dark eyes looked back, glaring impatiently.

"I said come on."

"Why should I trust you?"

"What?"

Dib folded his arms.

"Why should I trust you? I mean, who–"

"I'm not trying to catch you for them."

"So? I don't even know what race you are, and there's no way I'm–"

"Look."

He walked forward and glared straight into his eyes.

"I'm getting you off this ship. Is that enough for you?"

Dib glared, obviously not trusting the other's intention. The dark eyes narrowed fiercely when a loud clank resounded against the walls. Shouts followed shortly, and the stranger grabbed Dib's arm again.

"We have to get out of here."

He hurriedly pulled Dib away and towards a well. He pulled open a chute and pointed inside.

"Hurry."

Dib jumped in, and the stranger quickly followed. The long metallic shoot plopped them on hard on pieces of broken machinery, which knocked Dib's glasses from his face. He squeaked and started feeling around the garbage, hurrying to find his glasses. That was the last thing he needed, but the stranger suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on."

Dib squirmed in the other's grasp and pointed vaguely at the ground.

"My glasses, I need my glasses."

"Weak."

Without a second thought, the stranger unleashed Dib and turned to a wall. Dib fell to the ground again looking desperately for his glasses. He couldn't see a damn thing without them, and he wasn't about to face the entire empire without them. A door opened, and Dib snapped up his head, sending a heated glare towards the silhouetted figure in the doorway.

"Hey! I need to find my glasses!"

"You won't need glasses if the Empire catches you. Come on."

The figure disappeared and Dib jumped forward. He stumbled to the door and looked about frantically until he caught sight of the dark figure retreating down the hall. He ran to catch up, and when he finally did, the stranger didn't even glance back to see if he was all right. He sent a dark glare at the back of the fuzzy head because of it.

"You could be a little nicer, you know."

"No, I couldn't. Being 'nice' has nothing to do with getting you off this ship."

"Well, you could at least give me a name or something."

"We don't need names to survive, and we're still in enemy territory."

Dib raised an eyebrow, when suddenly the other shouted.

"_Seha keh!_"

He viciously reached out and threw Dib onto the floor. Dib yelled and covered his head, preparing for the worst. One second, two seconds, five, ten passed and nothing but the dead silence of the hall sat around them. He tenderly lifted his head to see, yet no obvious threat loomed around them. Granted, everything was blurred and he probably wouldn't be able to see a threat coming, but he looked to the stranger, who still lay upon the ground, eyes tightly closed and hands clasping over his head. Dib raised an eyebrow.

"…uh…"

"Shh…"

Dib stayed quiet, listening intently, and yet still, nothing happened. He was about to say something when a high-pitched buzz rang out above their heads. It was just barely graced the plane of existence, but his teeth grew exceptionally sensitive and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. After a moment, it faded, and the stranger relaxed.

"That was too close. Why do they want you so badly?"

Dib sat up and weakly shrugged. The stranger turned and started leading away once more. He paused by a corner, waiting for a moment and Dib slowed to stop behind him.

"Why are you helping me?"

"We need you."

Dib raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask any questions, the other turned and grabbed him roughly by the arm. He hurried down the hall further until they reached an intersection. The blurred stranger paused and peered down each passageway carefully. Dib slowed to a stop behind him, rubbing his eyes absentmindedly.

"Who needs me, anyway?"

The other barely glanced over his shoulder and turned to watch the hall again.

"That's not important right now."

"To me it is."

He turned his head to give Dib a dead look. He sighed and turned completely to Dib.

"Look, it is in your best interests to have patience, unless you want the Empire to throw you in their dark dungeons that ooze the juice of the living from the ceilings and walls and have the guards repeatedly beat you, torture you, bend you to their every desire and otherwise dilute your existence to mere flesh and bone. Understand?"

Dib narrowed his eyes, about to respond when red lights started blinking. The stranger whipped around.

"Shit. Come on."

He snatched Dib's arm and whipped around the corner. They ran down the hall just as soldiers appeared ahead of them. He cursed under his breath and turned around, kicking open a door they had just passed. He rushed in, the sounds of the soldiers footsteps growing louder by the second. He whipped around and slammed the door shut, pressing his back against the metal. Dib fought to silence his rushing breaths, while the other stood still as death against the door. Footsteps rushed by, beating and clanking furiously against the synthetic ground as they hurried past. They faded as quickly as they had come, and with a few moments of silence, the other relaxed. Dib lifted away from the wall and looked at him. The stranger messed off-handedly with his gloves, completely ignoring Dib and showing no sign of interest, so Dib held out a hand.

"I'm Dib."

He continued adjusting his glove as though nothing had been spoken. He sighed angrily and sent a glare at him.

"I said I didn't want your name."

"So?"

The other stilled in his adjustments, and a mysterious look sat on his dark face. He sighed and reached into his coat, pulling out a pair of glasses that hardly even glinted against the dark. He tossed them towards Dib and continued pulling at strings and adjusting buttons. His voice rumbled out aloofly.

"Turk."

The glasses hit him square in the chest, and he twitched and caught them tenderly. He blew on the glass and repositioned them, checking to make sure they were actually his.

"Turk, huh?"

"Yes, surprising."

"No, I was just…"

The other gave him a side-ways glare that showed he didn't care, and upon seeing it, Dib quieted. He sighed and looked around, not really seeing anything in the darkness but still hoping to see something. Turk lifted away from the wall suddenly and waved vaguely at Dib to get his attention.

"We have to keep moving."

He turned and led Dib down the hall, weaving quietly through undecipherable walls of metal and wire. Voices echoed softly and the two came to a stop at a corner and listened.

"I haven't heard anything about an alien, Sir. What does he look like again, my Tallest?"

The voice was professional and sharp, teeth tightly cutting every word he spoke. Dib leaned, trying to see the figures that spoke yet unable to see past Turk, who wisely kept the other behind.

"Well, he's got a big head. And huge eyes and a spiky thing coming off his head."

Dib's heart nearly jumped into his throat and he froze. He didn't even hear or comprehend the words, but he didn't need to. That cold, eerie voice was all too familiar to him already, and its singsong quality chilled him to the bone. Turk narrowed his eyes, peering carefully around the corner with deadly, seething eyes. He hissed under his breath.

"Tallest…"

Dib looked at him, confused and uncertain, when Turk snapped to look back at him.

"One of them at least."

He looked strangely familiar, or at least, his overall build did anyway. Dib raised an eyebrow, eyes still not used to the new darkness, and Turk turned back around to watch the scene as the voices continued humming softly. His eyes narrowed further as the two listened.

"If we catch sight of him, Sir, we'll return him promptly."

"Good, and of the intruder?"

"Status still unknown, Sir, but we've got every sentry watching and every soldier hunting."

"Then it shouldn't be long. Make sure the computer rooms are well watched and guarded, and don't forget about vents."

A soft click of leather contact and a sharp salute given.

"Yes my Almighty Tallest."

Footsteps softly retreated and a door hissed open and shut. Turk tensed, and looked back at Dib, giving the human a maniacal look.

"The Empire won't see what hit it."

He slipped around the corner suddenly, and Dib rushed ahead. He stopped by the edge and watched as Turk slipped along the wall towards Purple, whose attention was focused on a small computer screen before him. Dib tensed, watching the mysterious figure draw closer and closer. He held out a hand, and only a furious glint told Dib what lay in his hand. Fingers grasped anxiously upon the corner as he watched the assassin draw closer, closer, and still the Tallest beeped away at the console, unknowing and unaware. Dib shook his head softly, eyes wide, longing, fearful. Then, he attacked, arms wide, blade furious, eyes maniacal with a joyous light.

"No!"

Dib's voice shot out, though he instantly recoiled when he realized what he did. Purple's antennae tensed, and his eyes snapped back to see dark eyes and an even darker blade falling directly onto him. He turned, pulling back and turning to face his attacker. Turk landed hard, hands meeting the ground to rebound in a quick move, and he lunged forward. Metallic limbs shot out, slashing at the air and stabbing furiously at the ground as the Tallest shot up and landed behind the attacker. Turk skid to a stop and whipped around, eyes narrowed to deadly slits as the Tallest pointed.

"You!"

Turk grinned, and brandished a large cylinder, metallic and evil in design. Violet eyes snapped open as an explosion of electricity and flames sliced through the air, tearing at the machinery around. Purple dove to Dib's corner, slamming into him heavily and unexpectedly. Tumbling for a moment, Purple's hard fingers tightened painfully against Dib's arms as the leader held him in place. Eyes refocused upon one another, surprise sitting in both, and Purple grinned.

"Dibby!"

An explosion made both shield their faces, and when they lowered their arms, Turk stood as a dark shadow amidst burning rubble. He aimed and a cruel grin slid onto his face. Purple threw Dib to the side and dove towards the opposite wall just as another explosion of hissing bullets and explosions tore through the air. Dib screamed and covered his head, fires licking at his flesh and summoning timid beads of sweat to the surface. The attack suddenly stopped, and the sounds of struggle ricocheted off the walls. Dib whipped around to see the two clasped in battle. He sat up and watched as limbs thrashed and voices screeched against the walls.

Turk slammed Purple onto the ground, holding him shakily yet confidently as he lifted a blade high, prepared for its fall. Within a second, a mechanical arm shot out and dove deeply into the attacker's stable shoulder. He gasped and looked at the wound, surprise sitting deadly in his eyes. He dropped the blade and tenderly reached over to the tense machine sticking from his flesh. He clasped it and quickly removed it without a second thought. Purple pushed himself away, yet he showed no sign of haste as before. The dark eyes, cold and lifeless now, looked up from the blood sitting in his palm, and he fell onto the ground.

Without missing a beat, Purple stood and brought out a communication device from his pak. A screen phased into existence and the co-tallest appeared. Anger eroded to concern, but before he could speak, Purple looked away and explained.

"I ran into the intruder you guys are trippin' over. An assassin, if that's supposed to be surprising."

His eyes were almost frantic, yet strangely calm. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, and he nervously wiped stray flecks of blood from his armor as the other spoke.

"Well, are you alright?"

"Yes, he's subdued."

"You didn't kill him?"

Purple gave an unnaturally hard glare to his co-tallest, which made the other recoil slightly, more in realization then fear.

"We need to find out how he got in, and why the hell he's here. We can't do that if he's dead."

"Even you could probably guess why he's here. I'm sure he's just working for some stupid rebel group or something."

Violet eyes closed softly, coolly, and he turned more completely to the screen. Red's confidence faltered at the move and he watched the other intently.

"…Pur? What's wrong?"

His eyes carefully opened, staring at the flame-lit ground before him.

"That's the problem. I can't guess who he works for."

Red narrowed a suspicious eye.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me he messed up your pak."

"No."

The word was soft, extremely distant, even for him. Red raised an eyebrow, showing a great deal of concern now, not only for his co-tallest but also for the meaning behind his actions.

"Pur?"

"Red, the intruder, the one who attacked me."

He was taking his time, and that was enough for Red to shift uncomfortably.

"Out with it, Pur."

"He's Irken."

Red eyes snapped wide, and silence roared like a tsunami into the void.

–

**AN – **_Irken work solely for the Empire, or are immediately terminated. Hence the zomg. Anyhoo, that was a long chapter. I had it 'done' for a while, but I just didn't feel like posting it. I reread it recently and thought I should change things up, and did, and I like it now. :D It's a big chapter too, and more like what I want to write about as opposed to the first few chapters xO Turk randomly popped into my head because he looked cool, so I added him in xD There might be fanart for him on my deviantart account, check it if you're bored. Same username as here xO_

_Oh, quick question. Would you guys like it if I drew coverart for each chapter? I might do it anyway, but if people want to see what I see, then I'd be biting at the bit a bit more._


	6. Irken Invader Splooch

_**Prisoner of War**_

**Irken Invader Splooch**

**AN – **I'll start doing fanart for these chaps, might be hard for some, but wut ev ya? If/when I post them, they'll be at scrappster.deviantart (. com) so I don't clutter my chapters or profile page xD

Purple hovered quickly down the hall and Dib followed. He wasn't really sure what to do, but he figured he was better off following his captor. Various workers and slaves paid a good deal of attention to their passing leader, most diverting their gaze, others bowing. There were a few higher ranked that asked of his condition, but the violet leader simply passed them without a word. Purple's antennae perked and he turned around, looking behind. An Irken was running towards the two, and when he finally caught up, he saluted without missing a beat.

"Sir."

Purple twitched his hand in acknowledgement and the Irken continued.

"We have detained the menace. Interrogation will begin once you've authorized it."

He turned around, vaguely waving a hand back at the soldier.

"Continue then."

"Yes, my Tallest."

He clicked his heels and abruptly left, official and predictable as the Empire so desired. Purple started down the hall again. The people thinned as they traveled. Dib wasn't sure what to think or say, yet luckily for him, his captor spoke first.

"I don't know how something like that coulda happened. How the heck did he even get in here to begin with?"

Dib was about to speak when Purple lifted his hand to his chin.

"Maybe he's got a disguise. Been lurking around the ship this whole time. But that doesn't make any sense."

The Irken paused, and Dib opened his mouth to speak. Purple suddenly veered to his left and stopped to face a wall. He motioned vaguely at the wall before him.

"And who could possibly have that kind of technology? Or that kind of combat skill? He would have killed me if…"

His voice dropped off, and his antennae suddenly perked. He slowly turned around, a surprised yet suspicious look sitting on his face.

"Hey! You saved me."

Dib blinked, quickly recapped what had happened, and looked back up. Purple spoke before Dib could get a chance.

"Why the heck were you there?"

"Uh…well, you see, it was more like…uh…"

_How am I supposed to explain this? I ran into him while trying to escape? That he asked me to join him?_ No, Dib wasn't stupid. He had infamous 'Membrane' blood flowing through his veins. He knew when to take advantage of a situation. He looked up, a humble confidence in his eyes.

"I heard a noise in the vent under your bed, so I had to go check it out."

"He was using the vents?"

Dib smiled and nodded half-heartedly. He never felt comfortable lying to people of Purple's reputation.

"Yeah, and when I saw it was just an Irken, I was about to turn back. But I had a feeling something was up."

Purple grinned and nodded slowly, raising a hand to point a long finger at him.

"I knew there was something I liked about you."

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. Purple suddenly hovered forward and set a strong hand on his shoulder. Dib fought the urge to shudder and pull away, and instead forced a smile to the Tallest.

"You know Dib. I'm glad you did that. Cuz you know why? I'll tell you why."

He leaned in, and Dib couldn't help but pull back at the closeness. Purple's hand kept him close though, so he tried to relax instead. He hadn't been this close to an Irken before. At least, not without the immediate intention of killing them. It gave him a moment to notice things that he had never been able to notice with Zim. The face was so smooth, unrealistically so, and the eyes had a very slight texture to them. Almost like an iridescent piece of paper beneath tinted glass. He had always assumed their eyes were insect-like, yet gazing into the lifeless purple gaze, he knew his hypothesis was wrong. The eerie voice sang out, jarring him from his observations and yanking him back to reality.

"I don't have to kill you now."

Dib couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing, but the Irken ripped away, smacking other hand on Dib's shoulder and shouted.

"Ain't that just great?!"

Dib pulled back in surprise, but the Tallest suddenly pulled him into a strong embrace and smashed his head against his armor. Dib tensed at the sensation and almost pulled away. Hugs were awkward enough from family, let alone an enemy.

"Oh that makes me so happy. Not dying is great ain't it?"

Purple pushed him away suddenly, enthusiastic as Dib had never seen before. Those bright eyes screamed simplicity, even innocence, and Dib raised an eyebrow.

"I guess so…Arh!"

Strong arms slammed him against his armor again, and he squirmed against the grip. Purple swung him around slightly and giggled.

"'Guess so', you're so funny!"

Dib continued to squirm when suddenly Purple dropped him. He landed hard, but when he sent a half-hearted glare towards him, Purple didn't even glance down. Dark red robes stood down the hall, and a very angry looking Tallest filled them nicely. Now that Purple had noticed him, Red came forward instantly.

"What did I tell you about that thing?"

Purple relaxed and waved at his co-tallest.

"Oh, relax Red."

"No, we have to kill it."

"Him, and no we don't."

Red snapped around.

"What do you mean we don't have to kill it?"

"Because he proved worthy to the Empire."

"How the hell could it have done that?"

"He saved me from that assassin."

"How do you know it wasn't helping the traitor?"

"Because he followed the guy until he tried to kill me."

"Maybe it just wanted you to trust it."

"No, he doesn't like me or you, but obviously he likes the empire. Like most Irken here."

"It's alien, no deed can change that."

Purple suddenly grinned slyly, and he waved a hand vaguely to the other as he turned around. The move unnerved the ruby eyed tallest. He knew better then anyone how his co-tallest worked.

"What? What??"

"Oh no, no no. I understand. He must be killed."

The singsong quality of Purple's voice chilled Dib to the bone, and Red came up behind. He sighed.

"Alright, alright. Why shouldn't we kill it?"

A triumphant grin exploded over Purple's face, and he spun around to face Red. The haughty grin was gone in an instant, away from Red's prying eyes, and confidence had replaced it. Purple laid a hand on his co-tallest's shoulder, who gave him a disapproving look, but didn't move.

"It's not that we shouldn't kill him. It's that we can't."

"What?"

"Don't act dumb. You know that if a being of alien origin shows genuine interest in assisting the Empire, they are to be granted specific rights until deemed useless."

"I deem it useless."

"But I don't."

"You would."

Red shot him a glare and turned towards Purple, who let his hand fall to his side.

"Pur, we can't keep it. What if–"

"And, if there are two Tallests in power and both believe different actions should be taken, the case must be brought before the control brain and decided then."

Red rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"Fine, fine. I'll agree with you for now. That's too much trouble just to get rid of it."

Purple squeed as he grabbed Red's arm and started shaking it.

"Oh, thank you Red!"

"Yeah yeah, get off. So why do you want to keep it?"

Purple snatched Dib and buried his cheek in Dib's hair.

"He's fuzzy."

Red glared.

"Not funny."

"I thought it was."

"Just tell me why."

"He saved me from most certain death."

Red dead-panned Purple and shook his head.

"I doubt that, Pur."

"No, seriously. The guy had knives and guns and all sorts of stuff."

"Again, I doubt he saved your life."

"He did! I was goner."

Dib watched the two, bewildered and curious. He couldn't tell if Purple was being serious or if he was just kidding. It was impossible to tell either way, but Red turned and changed the subject.

"Whatever. Let's get back to the main room."

Purple nodded and the two hovered down the hall and to the bridge, Dib following on their heels intently all the while. The two mumbled to themselves and waved to the sentry standing guard of the bridge entrance. He dipped his head low and the door whizzed open, allowing the trio through. Purple reached out and poked one of the passing workers.

"Get the slave fixed up."

"Yes, Sir."

The pilot snatched a hold of Dib's arm and started dragging him off. Dib squeaked and looked back at the Tallest as they turned aloofly and went about their ways. The pilot lead him to a door, and Dib gulped, not sure what 'Fix up' meant and fearing the worse as the door drew open to a blinding white light.

-

"I still don't know how that could happen."

Purple leaned back to look at his pacing co-tallest.

"Wasn't he classified as dead?"

"I thought so. Which is why I'm confused. Every Irken killed is disposed of appropriately. _Especially_ Invaders."

"Maybe a glitch in the system."

Red snapped his head back, glaring from Purple to the floor.

"There are no glitches in anything Irken made."

Purple gave a dead look at the other, who looked up curiously.

"Please, you know that's not t–"

"Shut up, Pur. I'm serious."

"So am I."

Purple turned in the chair, resting his hand on the metallic back.

"You can't pretend they don't happen."

"I said shut up, Pur. A glitch is way different then–"

"A defect?"

Red looked up from his study of the ground, and Purple gave him a tired smile. Red glared and turned, waving off-handedly.

"Yes."

"Good, I thought they were the same."

"Shut the hell up."

–

"Irken Invader Splooch. That is your title, is it not?"

The light from above highlighted his scarred, hellish face. His eyes were steady with a deadly calm. No response came, and the tall figure sighed frustratedly. Red eyes reopened before him and heavy hands rested on the table.

"Look. We know who you are, your old scores, who trained you, everything! You can't hide that. But what we want to know–"

"Are things I will not reveal."

Rage exploded from the interrogator and he flipped the table. Turk didn't even wince at the action and when the red eyes lunged forward, he lifted his jaw to return the heavy glare.

"You were part of the empire. You know what lies ahead."

Silence. Predictable, but the interrogator shifted tactics. He moved smoothly, gracefully, and his voice softly sang out, a hint of selfless pleading tinting his words.

"Then ease yourself the trouble of the prisons on Vort. What do you care if the ones you work for are found out? The Empire can give you anything."

"False."

Those red eyes snapped down, harsher now. He obviously had a temper that had granted him this position.

"What?"

He clipped the word with a hard tongue and lunged forward, stopping just before Turk once more. The dark, worn eyes glared into the vibrant ones before him, and he spoke slowly, confidently, almost solemnly.

"False."

"You should know the benefits of assisting the Empire. You of all beings should know the chances we could give you. Planets, fleets, respect, everything you could possibly desire."

"False."

He growled and straightened away, looming over Turk suspiciously.

"If you comply and answer our questions, all you have to do is name your greatest desire and it will be yours."

"My greatest desire?"

Calm washed over the interrogators face, triumph flickering in the depths of his ruby orbs.

"Greatest and most unattainable desire."

"Unattainable."

It was only stated, as though making a dull point.

"To all but the Empire, I assure you. Name it."

He was quiet for a moment and Turk didn't shift.

"I want…"

The interrogator's eyes grew wide, gleeful and devious as he waited expectantly for triumph. The metallic stillness sat thickly in the air, until Turk slowly looked up, a dead glint sitting in each eye.

"Life."


End file.
